Band sintering or roasting apparatus



July 29, 1941., H. WITTENBERG 2,251,181

BAND SINTERING OR ROA STING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /n vemfor HERBERT WITTENBERG by 2125 afia/weys July 29, 1941.; H. WITTENBERG BAND SINTERING OR ROASTING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /nventor: HERBERT WITTEN BERG ,6 61 s War/rays July 29 1941. H. WITTENBERG BAND SINTERING OR ROASTIN G APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet, 3

Filed Aug. 24, 1938 v 3110mm Herbert mfienbefy,

Patented July 29, 1941 BAND SINTERING OR ROASTING APPARATUS Herbert Wittenberg, Schonberg, near Kronberg in Taunus, Germany, assignor to American Lurgi Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 24, 1938, Serial No. 226,557 In Germany October 11, 1937 7 Claims. (Cl. 266-21) This invention relates to a band sintering or roasting apparatus. 7 A

In known band sintering or roasting apparatus, in which pallets are guided on a straight path over suction boxes, the weight of the pallets, together with that of their contents and the pressure produced by drawing air through the charge, is borne partly by rails, on which the rollers or wheels of said pallets run, and partly by slide tracks provided on the top edge of the suction boxes, slide members provided on pallets bearing tightly against said. slide tracks. The slide tracks or the slide members of the pallets, or the rails, are so mounted that, when a certain maximum load is exceeded, they yield to the further applied pressure. For example, the rails on which the rollers or Wheels of the pallets run during their upper worxing passage over the suction boxes, are not rigidly mounted, but are pressed up, with the aid of springs or counterweights, in such a manner that they just take up a desired portion of the Weight of the pallets, together with their contents and the pressure produced by the suction of the fans. The pallets can also be run on rigidly mounted rails during their upper passage over the suction boxes, and the slide tracks of the latter be pressed against the slide members of the pallets, with the aid of springs or counter-weights, in order to attain the desired sealing between the inner space of the suction boxes and the outer atmosphere.

The present invention relates to a further de-- velopment of the known device and aims at ren-- dering the movement of the pal-lets on the sinter' track particularly steady. To this end, inac-' cordance with the invention, elastic inserted members, for example rubber bands or rubber tubes, are provided in the running track on. which run the rollers or wheels of the pallets (or in the slide track), and, in addition. the running track is made adjustable in height, for example by means of screws and wedges.

Thus, for example in accordance with the invention, fixed rails, lying parallel to the slide track on each side of the sintering track, for ex-- ample U-irons, are so mounted on the frame of the sintering apparatus that they can be ac-- curately adjusted to any desired level, with the aid of per se known devices. On these rails, which lie vertically beneath the runningrollers of the pallets are placed rubber bands of corresponding width and height. The layers of rubberare, in. turn, preferably provided for protective purposes. with a metallic surface layer, for example an elastic steel band The total running track thus consists of rails (for example U-irons), rubber layers and metallic surface layers. With the aid of the adjusting device it is then pressed against the rollersof the pallets with such force 1 that the greater part of the load of the pallets is borne by the roller track. The effect of this is that slight variations in the weights of the pallets are equalized by the rubber layers, while on the other hand the slide members of the pallets and the slide rails on the top edge of the suctionboxes lie against one another evenly at all points, with pressure sufficient to provide a tight joint. The force required to be transmitted from the drive of the sintering apparatus to the pallets, for the forward movement, is accord-ingly approximately uniform, and the forward movement of the pallets takes place continuously and without jolts.

The advantage is thereby obtained that not only the wear on the slide rails and slide'mem bers, but also that on the faces of the pallets which are pressed against each other, is substantially reduced. The power required for the driveis likewise smaller, and in addition there is a substantial saving in lubricants for the slide tracks. 1

In order to enable the invention to be more readily understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate diagram matically and by way of example, one embodiment thereof, and in Which- Figure l is a vertical section through the upper portion of the sintering apparatus, perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the pallets;

Figures 2 and 3 are details of this arrangement on an enlarged scale;

Figure l is an elevation of a quadrant of the lifting Wheel which lifts the pallet from the lower idle running track to the-upper supporting track;

Figure 5 is a section along the vertical center line of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a modification of Figure 2, showing the top of the rails made in the form of a box; V Figure '7 is another modification of Figure 2, showing the periphery of the rollers furnished with resilient-layers; and

Figure 8 is a further modification of Figure 2, showing rubber tubes used for the resilient layers.

In said drawings- I isthe frame of a pallet, 3 a suction box, 2' are grate-bars and 4 parts of theframe of the sintering apparatus. On each pallet four rollers E are fitted. In addition, each pallet also has four rollers 6, which are acted on by the lifting wheel I9 as shown in Figures 4 and 5 which lifts the pallet from the lower idle running track to the upper sintering track. Each of the four axles l8 secured to the frame of the pallet carries one roller 6 and one roller 5.

On the upper edge of the suction boxes are slide rails 7. On the latter lie the slide members 8 (which are fitted at the bottom of the side-walls of the pallet frames) making a tight joint, so that the interior of the suction boxes and the space beneath the pallet are sealed ofi from the outer atmosphere. On the girders 4 of the frame of the sintering apparatus, rails 9 (for example U or similar section rails) are mounted on both sides of the suction box. Between said rails 9 and said girders 4 double-wedge members ID are interposed at intervals. Said double-wedge members are mounted on two correspondingly bevelled fitting pieces H and I2, which may be brought closer to or farther away from one another by means of the screws I3. Between the fitting pieces H and I2 and the top of the girder 4 are intermediate members IT.

The screw-bolts l4 serve to secure the rails 9 on the girders 4. The rubber layers l5 are secured n the top of the rails 9, and may be so secured in various ways. For example, the top of the rails 9 is made in the form of a box 20 as shown in Figure 6, and the rubber layer is suitably shaped to conform to the interior space of said box. Instead of this form of fastening, or in addition thereto, other forms of joining the rubber layers to the rails 9 may be selected. For example, the fastening may be efiected by vulcanization or adhesion.

In order to protect the surface of the rubber layers, metal bands I6 (for example elastic steel bands) or individual metal strips are preferably fitted, the rollers then running thereon. This metal protection, however, is not absolutely necessary.

The rubber layers may also be provided at other points on the roller track, for example between the bottom of the rails 9 and the adjusting devices [0, ll, [2, I3, or between the individual parts of the adjusting devices or between the latter and the intermediate members II, or at a plurality of points.

In operation, the height of the two running tracks is so adjusted at every point, by tightening or loosening the adjusting screws I3, that the running rollers 5 just transmit the desired portion of the load of the pallets to the tracks. The adjustment is advantageously made in such a manner that each roller transmits approximately the same pressure to the track.

The invention renders it possible to relieve the slide rails l and slide members 8 of load to a very great extent, so that the slide rails 1 take up only a small pressure which is just sufiicient to ensure tightness between the members I and 8. If a certain wear occurs on the slide rails I and slide members 8 in the course of working, the wear may be compensated, without difficulty, by readjustment of the height of the rails, by means of the devices II], II, l2, l3.

Instead of the rubber layers 15, it is possible to use rubber tubes as shown in Figure 8, for example filled with compressed gas, air, a liquid or the like. The regulation of the pressure in the tubes may then cooperate in, or be used alone for, the adjustment of the height of the roller track.

A modification of the invention as shown in Figure 7 consists in furnishing the periphery of the rollers-and not the roller trackswith resilient layers, for example solid rubber or pneumatic tires. This arrangement may naturally also be employed in conjunction with the first described embodiment of the invention. Instead of rubber, other elastic materials, such as caoutchouc, guttapercha, the synthetic rubber known under the registered trade-mark Buna or the like may also be employed. It is also possible to provide the elastic layers in one or more of the described structural forms in the slide members 1 or slide rails 8, which would then preferably be protected, in known manner, for example by cooling or by being placed on the outside of the suction boxes, against excessive heating through the gases of the sintering.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising suction boxes, pallets, and rails on both sides of said suction boxes, said suction boxes having slide tracks on the top sides thereof, and said pallets having slide members tightly bearing against said slide tracks and rollers running on said rails the rails on which the rollers of the pallets run being stationary and supported in a rigid manner, the load of the pallets being borne partly by said rails and rollers, and partly by said slide tracks and said slide members, in combination with resilient layers provided in one of said partial load support means, whereby said partial load support means will yield somewhat in downward direction under the influence of the weight of the roasting pallets, thereby distributing said weight longitudinally on each side of said suction boxes and means for adjusting the height of said rails.

2. In a band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising suction boxes, pallets, and rails on both sides of said suction boxes, said suction boxes having slide tracks on the top sides thereof, and said pallets having slide members bearing on said slide tracks and longitudinally spaced rollers running on said rails the rails on which the rollers of the pallets run being stationary and supported in a rigid manner, the load of the pallets being borne partly by said rails and rollers, and partly by said slide tracks and slide members, in combination with resilient layers provided in said partial load support means comprising said rails and said rollers, whereby said partial load support means will yield somewhat in downward direction under the influence of the weight of the roasting pallets, thereby distributing said weight over two longitudinally spaced supporting points on each longitudinal side of the suction boxes, and means for adjusting the height of said rails.

3. In a band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising suction boxes and pallets movable in a straight path thereover, said suction boxes having slide tracks on the top sides thereof and said pallets having slide members tightly bearing against said slide tracks, running tracks comprising longitudinally extending rails on both sides of said suction boxes and mounted in a rigid manner, rollers on said pallets running on said running tracks, the load of said pallets being borne partly by said slide members bearing on said slide tracks and partly by said rollers running on said running tracks, said slide members and slide tracks thereby constituting the bearing members of one transitory supporting means, and said rollers and running tracks constituting the bearing members of another transitory supporting means, the improvement which comprises resilient layers provided in one of said transitory supporting means and interposed between two metal layers, one of said metal layers being incorporated into one of said bearing members and forming a box receiving said resilient layer and the other metal layer constituting the bearing surface for said bearing member and a protective covering for said resilient layer, and means for adjusting the height of said rails.

4. In a band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising suction boxes and pallets movable in a straight path thereover, said suction boxes having slide tracks on the top sides thereof and said pallets having slide members tightly bearing against said slide tracks, stationary rails mounted on both sides of said suction boxes in a rigid manner, rollers on said pallets running on said rails, the load of said pallets being borne partly by said slide members bearing on said slide tracks and partly by said rollers running on said rails, the improvement which comprises resilient layers secured on the peripheries of said rollers and engaging the tops of said rails and compressed thereby to effect longitudinal distribution of the load carried by said rollers, and means for adjusting the height of said rails.

5. In a band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising suction boxes and pallets movable in a straight path over said suction boxes, said suction boxes having slide tracks on the top sides thereof and said pallets having slide members tightly bearing against said slide tracks, running tracks comprising stationary rails mounted on both sides of said suction boxes in a rigid manner, rollers on said pallets running on said running tracks, the load of said pallets being borne partly by said rollers running on said running tracks and partly by said slide members bearing on said slide tracks, the improvement which comprises rubber tubes filled with fluid under pressure provided in said running tracks and interposed between two metal layers, the upper metal layer being engaged by the rollers and the lower metal layer constituting the upper flange of the supporting rail, the regulation of the pressure in the tubes serving at least in part for adjusting the height of said upper metal layer.

6. A band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising in combination, pallets with rollers and slide members on both sides, suction boxes with slide tracks on the top sides thereof and adapted to engage with said slide members on both sides of said pallets, whereby the load of the pallets is partly borne by said slide tracks on the top of said suction boxes, rails stationary and rigidly arranged on both sides of the suction boxes, resilient layers on said rails covered with a protective coating, whereby the said rails with the resilient layers and coating bear partly the load of said pallets by said rollers, and means for adjusting the height of said rails.

'7. A band sintering or roasting apparatus comprising in combination, pallets with rollers and slide members on both sides, suction boxes with slide tracks on the top sides thereof and adapted to engage with said slide members on both sides of said pallets, whereby the load of the pallets is partly borne by said slide tracks on the top of said suction boxes, rails stationary and rigidly arranged on both sides of the suction boxes, resilient layers on said rails covered with a protective coating, whereby the said rails with the resilient layers and coating bear partly the load of said pallets by said rollers, and screw operated wedges for adjusting the height of the rails.

HERBERT WITTENBERG. 

